HSK 5 · Nature

狮子 shīzi “lion” in Chinese

Traditional 獅子

What 狮子 means

  1. lion

Measure word 只 zhī or 头 tóu · 一只狮子 yì zhī shīzi

How to say 狮子

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale狮shī1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the neutral tone: short and light, with no contour of its own子zineutral tone, light and short

Grey pinyin is a neutral tone: say it short and light. More on the neutral tone

狮子 in a sentence

  1. 狮子是万兽之王。

    Shīzi shì wàn shòu zhī wáng.

    The lion is the king of beasts.

    Sentence #784072 from Tatoeba

  2. 狮子听从驯兽师的指挥。

    Shīzi tīngcóng xùnshòushī de zhǐhuī.

    The lion obeyed its trainer’s commands.

    Sentence #2626332 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 狮子很强壮。

    Shīzi hěn qiángzhuàng.

    Lions are strong.

    Sentence #651195 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 狮子 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 狮 (shī) with each of its parts in a different colour
狮shīlion
  • 犭dog form of 犬 · quǎnMeaning part
  • 师teacher · shīSound part

犭 hints at the meaning (dog); 师 (shī) hints at the sound. Compare it with shī.

The character 子 (zi) with each of its parts in a different colour
子zinoun suffix, as in 椅子 “chair”
  • 了clear · le
  • 一one · yī

Memory aidA baby with its arms out and its legs wrapped up.

How to write 狮子

狮 9 strokes · 子 3 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

狮子 (shīzi) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 狮子 (shīzi). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 狮子

Words with 子

儿子érzi · son椅子yǐzi · chair桌子zhuōzi · table杯子bēizi · cup妻子qīzi · wife孩子háizi · child本子běnzi · book子zi · (common noun suffix)裤子kùzi · pants帽子màozi · hat

More words: Nature & Environment

闪电shǎndiàn · lightning蛇shé · snake生长shēngzhǎng · to grow石头shítou · stone天空tiānkōng · sky土地tǔdì · land兔子tùzi · hare尾巴wěiba · tail

FAQs

狮子 (shīzi) means “lion”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it shīzi: shī with a 1st tone, then zi with a neutral tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 狮子 is written 獅子. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 只 (zhī) or 头 (tóu). For example, one lion is 一只狮子 (yì zhī shīzi).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shizi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 狮子 from the suggestions. Typing shizi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
狮子 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.